Sectional doors have long been employed in both residential structures, and commercial and industrial buildings. Sectional doors save space by retracting above, rather than into, the space they enclose. Decorative components have long been attached to the panels of sectional doors to enhance their aesthetic appearance. These decorative components approximate the appearance of wood trim or molding on the surface of the panels. Such molding or wood trim was originally arranged in various patterned designs on the panels, and the decorative components can be fashioned to reflect those designs.
The decorative components have been attached to panels of sectional doors made of a variety of materials. For example, the decorative components have been glued, screwed, nailed, clamped, or otherwise rigidly fastened to the panels. However, in recent years, panels of sectional doors have also been designed to prevent objects or a user's fingers from being caught or “pinched” between the section-to-section interfaces of the panels. These pinch resistant designs have been successful at eliminating the pinching dangers associated with the section-to-section interfaces during the articulation of sectional doors. Some pinch resistant designs employ panels with contoured projections along the section-to-section interface. These projections minimize the space between the panels at the section-to-section interface throughout the range of motion of the sectional door, and thus effectively reduce their tendency for pinching.
Some other pinch resistant designs employ an L-shaped shield composed of a resilient sheet material that guards the gap between the upper and lower panels of a sectional door. For example, the foot portion of the L-shaped shield is attached to the upper edge of a lower sectional door panel, and the leg portion extends upwardly across the gap between the upper and lower panels. The L-shaped shield prevents objects including a user's fingers from being caught between the upper and lower panels at the section-to-section interface. Nevertheless, such objects can still be caught between the L-shaped shield and the upper panel.
Still other pinch resistant designs employ a flexible cover piece. The flexible cover piece is attached at either of its ends to the surfaces of the upper and lower panels of a sectional door by various connectors. These connectors are adapted to hold the flexible cover piece taut when the sectional door is in either the open or closed position. The flexible cover piece prevents objects from being caught between the panels at the section-to-section interface by effectively covering all of the section-to-section interfaces. Ideally, the flexible cover piece must be made of a rather flexible material so it can stretch as the sectional door articulates. However, if the flexible cover piece does not possess the required flexibility, it will bind the movement of the sectional door, and if the flexible cover piece is too flexible, it will ultimately sag. Furthermore, in the event of a storm, the flexible cover piece must be removed to prevent it from becoming damaged.
However complex these designs have become, they are nonetheless silent in addressing the dangers posed by the addition of decorative components to the panels. Like the pieces, the decorative components abutting one another along the section-to-section interface of the panels also pose a pinching danger. As a result, rather than using decorative components, the aforementioned patterned designs have been shaped directly into the panels themselves. The addition of the patterned designs to the panels themselves allows the pinch resistance embodied in the panels to be maintained. Furthermore, some of these sectional door designs provide for limited alteration of the patterned designs by allowing the aforementioned shaped panels to be rearranged. However, the use of patterned designs shaped directly into the panels themselves does not permit a manufacturer, or, for that matter, a consumer to substantially alter the appearance of the sectional door from time to time by adding, subtracting, or rearranging decorative components. Nevertheless, partially shaped, specially-configured sectional door panels can provide the required flexibility to add, subtract, or rearrange decorative components without affecting the pinch resistant properties of the panels.
Therefore, there is a need for specially-configured panels allowing decorative components to be attached in various patterns on the panels without presenting an additional pinch hazard to effectively maintain the pinch resistance embodied in the panels themselves.